AHIARA DIOCESE CRISIS: THE UNTOLD STORIES…24

Explosion of Initiatives … [v]

In our penultimate posting to this blog we had described the late Bishop Victor Adibe Chikwe, as a born technician who became the premier bishop of Ahiara Diocese. This was predicated on the late bishop’s penchant for anything technical. He was extremely good with the tools. He could easily figure out how to fix any entity with technical components by merely looking at it. Yes, he was that gifted with technical things!

But as it would turn out Bishop Chikwe’s love for technical tools was in fact a precursor to his real love for the in-breaking digital world of communications of the late 1980s and 90s. His emergence as the bishop of the new diocese of Ahiara would coincide with the explosion of digital communications across the world. And such was a situation Bishop Chikwe would never miss. He promptly made the decision to employ what the new digital communications world was offering to improve the people's standards of living in his new diocese. In fact, it seemed as if the burgeoning new era of digital communications had been predestined to complement Bishop Chikwe’s emergence as the Catholic bishop of Ahiara Diocese Mbaise.

Bishop Chikwe’s interest in digital communications was first channeled towards introducing telecommunications to what until then had appeared to successive governments of Nigeria as the “jungles” of Mbaise land as far as telephony and telecommunications in general were concerned. Since the invention of telephone communications in the later part of the 19th century, there had never been any recorded telephone call made or received from the rural territory of the Mbaise people.

For about the three-quarters of the 20th century Mbaise land remained a place that could not communicate with the outside world via the telephone. And that epitomized how the whole territory was treated by both the colonialists and the indigenous secular governments that succeeded them. Mbaise land was looked upon as a “jungle” by the colonialists and successive administrations in Nigeria wanted to keep her that way for the foreseeable future.

As far as telecommunication was concerned what had existed before the arrival of Bishop Chikwe was a faint memory of the former head of state of the defunct Republic of Biafra, General Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, talking repeatedly to his walkie-talkie or using what appeared to have been his satellite telephone in the dead of the night to communicate with the pilots of some Relief Aircrafts flying into the Biafran Airfield in Uli to deposit some relief materials for the starving and war-ravaged Biafrans. The whole territory of the Mbaise people patiently waited for a hands-on tools man like Bishop Chikwe for her first telephone calls. And when eventually she got her man in the person of Bishop Chikwe, the story changed forever.

Immediately Bishop Chikwe was installed in Ahiara Diocese as a bishop, he began immediately to plan on how to change the history of everything in Mbaise land including telecommunications. Bishop Chikwe thought first of approaching a prominent Mbaise son who served as a Federal Minister of Science and Technology in Nigeria’s Second Republic for some insight on how to go about the introduction of telephone communications in Mbaise land. The former Nigerian Minister of Science and Technology during the administration of President Shehu Shagari, Dr Sylvester Ugo of Umuokrika Ekwerazu, had allegedly tried in the early 1980s to bring telecommunications to Mbaise land by erecting a communications tower at Nkwoala Umuokrika which stands till today. But the effort was abandoned half-way for no known reasons.

For a while Bishop Chikwe had entertained the thought that something could be achieved along the line of bringing telecommunications to Mbaise land by putting into full use the telecommunications tower the Mbaise-born former minister of science and technology had begun to build at Nkwoala Umuokrika Ekwerazu for the same purpose. But when he realized that using the dilapidated Nkwoala Umuokrika telecommunications mast would amount to sheer waste of time and resources, he abandoned the idea all through and decided to explore other avenues.

Bishop Chikwe’s desire to bring telecommunications to Mbaise land would achieve a breakthrough during his vacation in overseas in 1988. He would return home that year from his vacation overseas with a telephone exchange machine which had never been seen in this part of the world before. The technology of the machine was such that it would receive calls with Bishop Chikwe’s number in Owerri City and transfer same to his House in Ahiara through a high communications tower that was erected at the middle of the bishop’s court in Ahiara village. It was amazing. Hardly did anybody in Mbaise land know that such a technology even existed. But that was quintessential Bishop Chikwe. He was an explorer and an adventurer par excellence. Whatever he wanted he went for it. That was his nature and that was the charism he had brought into his Episcopal ministry in the new diocese of Ahiara, Mbaise.

Bishop Chikwe installed his new telecommunications machine at the headquarters of Amrud Engineering Company Ltd on Whetheral Road in Owerri, whose Chairman and Managing Director was Chief [Now, Eze] B.N. Amaechi, Ogbuodud II of Mbaukwu Autonomous Community, Ihitte Ezinihitte. There in one of the offices of Eze B.N. Amaechi the process of transferring Bishop Chikwe’s call to his residence in Ahiara began. Once a call was placed to Bishop Chikwe’s telephone number in Owerri, the machine received and transferred same to his house in Ahiara through a telephone tower that was installed at Bishop’s house.

When this communications breakthrough was achieved in the new diocese of Ahiara, it became an instant object of spectacle among priests and even among some lay people many of whom did not believe that such was possible in Mbaise land. Many counted it as the first dividend to Mbaise people from the new Ahiara Diocese. According to many commentators at that time, Bishop Chikwe had proved why it was absolutely necessary that an Mbaise son had to be made the first bishop of the diocese. Only an Mbaise son would put in such a level of dedication and creativity towards the improvement of living in Mbaise land.

But the realization of the first telephone call in Mbaise land was just the beginning. Bishop Chikwe would step forward from that humble beginning to try to transform the new diocese of Ahiara into a very big telephone call centre where majority of Mbaise people would for years receive and make their phone calls. Gradually Bishop Chikwe kept pace with improvements on his telephone services to Mbaise land. Every year he would bring in something new to improve the efficiency of the call centres. Within a short space of time, Bishop Chikwe’s Court in Ahiara displaced the inefficient Nigerian Telecommunications [NITEL] in Owerri as Mbaise people’s preferred Telephone Booth.

However, the telephone was just Bishop Chikwe’s first step in the plethora of initiatives lined up for the improvement of his new diocese. It would turn out that the communications revolution he had in mind for Mbaise people was just loading. As he got the telecommunications going he immediately turned his eyes towards computerizing the Chancery of the new diocese. At that point in time throughout Nigeria, talks about the computerization of anything in Nigeria was just talk, and in fact, a fairy tale. Both the governments of Nigeria and the Church were yet to arrive at the point of viewing the computer as a means to accomplish anything in the country. They were mostly reading about it in newspapers. In fact, not many had seen any computer at work yet. But the new bishop of Ahiara Diocese was already there ahead of everyone else.

During his vacation in overseas in 1989, Bishop Chikwe would begin the process of gathering as many fairly used and new computers as he could lay his hands on for the computerization of the Diocesan Chancery. And that began the process of computerization in the new diocese of Ahiara Mbaise, an innovation which was not present in any other diocese in Nigeria at that point in time. Bishop Chikwe would become the premier trail blazer in the computerization of Chanceries across the Roman Catholic Church of Nigeria. He would become the defacto leader in the use of computers for businesses in diocesan chanceries throughout Nigeria.

By the beginning of the 1990s, Bishop Chikwe had had his chancery and his private residence all computerized. It was amazing the giant strides the new diocese had made within a short period of less than five years. News about Bishop Chikwe’s innovations in Ahiara Diocese was trickling out to other dioceses. It was a shock to many that a rural diocese that was thought to be lost in the jungles of Mbaise land was playing a leadership role in introducing the Roman Catholic Church in Nigeria to the digital communications world.

As Bishop Chikwe began to put finishing touches to the computerization of the chancery he set his sight on bringing the internet to the rural diocese of Ahiara. Many people thought he had become crazy by thinking that the innovative internet could be brought to Mbaise land. But Bishop Chikwe could never be deterred when he set himself towards accomplishing anything. He never believed that any challenge was beyond him to overcome.

As many people wondered whether he was just blustering when he announced that he was determined to introduce the internet to rural Mbaise land, Bishop Chikwe went into a serious market research. And before long he had discovered an Israeli company that provided internet communications to remote communities through the satellite. The technology was called V-Sat. Bishop Chikwe paid a huge sum of money to bring the V-Sat internet technology to the new diocese of Ahiara. It was just like a miracle to many people. Long before some urban areas like Owerri, Onitsha, Aba and even Port Harcourt could see the shadows of the internet, V-Sat internet technology was up and running in the rural diocese of Ahiara Mbaise.

When Bishop Chikwe completed the installation of the V-Sat internet technology he set his eyes on establishing a communication’s studio in Ahiara Diocese. He had a vision, which he had shared with many priests of the diocese that days would come when the Nigerian government would let go her stranglehold on broadcast licenses thereby allowing private ownership in the broadcast industry. He believed that sooner than later individuals and even religious organizations in Nigeria would own broadcast stations like the televisions and radios. He wanted the new diocese to be a pioneer in the broadcast business. He believed that with the ever rising pool of talents among the clergy and laity in Mbaise land, the new diocese must diversify by establishing all sorts of institutions where her abundance of talents could express themselves.

In preparation for the opening of a communications studio in Ahiara Diocese, Bishop Chikwe embarked on two things. First, he sent one of his talented priests to train as a communications studio manager and professional at the Catholic Communications Studio in Kaduna. When this priest completed his training in Kaduna he sent over to Jos in Plateau State to perfect his training. As this went on Bishop Chikwe went to overseas and embarked on procuring all sorts of communications equipment. Before long, the new diocese had stocked up all it would take to begin a communications studio in Mbaise land. Bishop Chikwe thought that he had taken care of everything the envisaged studio would need to take off.

But like the farm project which the bishop had prepared very well for, something similar would happen to the planned communications studio. The priest who had been trained for the studio refused to touch the equipment. He demanded that he needed further training overseas before he would open and operate the studio. Bishop Chikwe was extremely frustrated by the stand of the priest. He did not know what to do. Meanwhile, the equipment, especially the video cameras and editing equipment were languishing in the boxes where they were packed waiting to be put into use. The bishop tried persuading the priest to reconsider his stance but failed. He gave up.

Fortunately, a young priest was ordained in 1994 that instinctively took up the communications equipments and began to put them into full use to the delight of the bishop. Bishop Chikwe was consoled that the communications equipments were not after all going to waste because nobody was competent enough to use them. From 1994 to 1995 the new priest would make a tremendous progress in the use of the communications equipments Bishop Chikwe had procured in order to open up a studio in the new diocese of Ahiara. He began to cover and document most of the ceremonies of the diocese to the delight of everybody.

Meanwhile, as Bishop Chikwe continued his revolution in digital communications in Ahiara Diocese, the Catholic bishops of Nigeria began to notice. Bishop Chikwe was appointed Chairman of Communications Subcommittee at the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria [CBCN]. The idea was for him to sell his communications expertise to the other bishops of Nigeria. And that he did with grace and candor. Many dioceses sent in some of their personnel to come down to Ahiara Diocese and understudy the operations of Ahiara Diocesan Chancery. It was amazing. A rural diocese which was thought to have no future had suddenly become a model diocese where other dioceses in Nigeria came to learn. It was almost unthinkable for many people in Mbaise land.

While Bishop Chikwe was serving as Chairman, Communications Subcommittee with the CBCN a communications department opened in one of the Pontifical Universities in Rome for the training of priests and lay people in the use of communications and modern equipments to enhance evangelization. The CBCN received two scholarship opportunities for two priests who would be trained on modern communications in the university. As Chairman, Communications Subcommittee, Bishop Chikwe was offered one of the opportunities to be given to a priest of his own choosing.

When Bishop Chikwe returned home with the scholarship, he was absolutely conflicted whom to give it. He began making consultations. As was typical of Bishop Chikwe in his process of resolving difficult issues, many priests would be consulted before he made the final decision on whom to give the scholarship to.

I had come home from the USA during the Christmas of 1995 to celebrate the long-overdue memorial service of my late father. One morning Bishop Chikwe called me into his private residence. He told me that he had this issue to resolve and needed some sincere advice from me. He said that he had one scholarship opportunity for the study of communications from a university in Rome. And that he was conflicted on whom to give the opportunity to. He told me that the two options he had were as follows. The first option was the priest he had described as “your relative”, who, he said, had been extensively trained in communications studios in Nigeria; but, who, after his training, refused to touch the communications equipments demanding instead an oversea training before doing anything regarding communications in the diocese.

The second option, according to him, was the young priest who, after his ordination, pounced on the equipments and have been using them ever since to work for the diocese. He asked me, “If you were the bishop of this diocese whom would you give this scholarship to?”

I thought the bishop had set up a big trap for me. I told myself that I needed to be very careful in answering him. I told him that I would not be interested in determining the one he ultimately gave the scholarship to, but, that, in my world, zeal and interest counted far more than knowledge. I told him that if somebody has interest and zeal, working on improving his knowledge becomes a whole lot easier. But if one has only knowledge with no zeal and interest, such a one would not accomplish much with his knowledge. So, I told the bishop that a man of zeal and interest trumped a man of knowledge in my world.

The bishop looked at me and smiled. He told me that I had answered exactly like the many other people he had consulted on the issue. He would talk to me once again on the issue before I headed back to the USA in January of 1996. And that was typical of Bishop Chikwe. At the beginning of Ahiara Diocese he insisted on extensive consultations before embarking on anything spectacular. He wanted to carry as many people as possible along in his revolutionary initiatives and innovations.

This is one of the main reasons why the bishopric crisis in Ahiara Diocese has lingered for this long. Not a few people in Mbaise land believe that the crisis was contrived by the enemies of Mbaise people to stem the rapid tide of the innovations and revolution that was going on in Ahiara Diocese. According to this school of thought, there is no other way to justify the appointment of an untested priest from a far away place to shepherd the highly progressive, intelligent and innovative Diocese of Ahiara other than to stop the momentum of the diocese that was headed inexorably towards the laying on of the foundation stone for Mater Ecclesiae University in Mbaise land.

To be continued ….